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TRANSCRIPT
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TPC Desktop Series
Plat Checking Guide
1/18
NOTICE
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. TRAVERSE PC. Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document.
Copyright © 2018
TRAVERSE PC, INC. PO Box 105
239 NOPAL STREET FLORENCE, OR 97439
All rights reserved.
No part of this documentation may be reprinted, reproduced or utilized in any form without written consent from Traverse PC, Inc., with the exception that the examples may be stored and retrieved electronically for personal use.
Sales: (800) 460-3002
Email: [email protected]
Technical Support: (541) 248-5147
Email: [email protected]
http://www.traverse-pc.com
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Table of Contents
Using the Plat Checking Guide .......................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Checking Paper Plats ......................................................................................................................... 7 Checking Lot Closure ...................................................................................................................... 21 Reporting Lot Data .......................................................................................................................... 25 Applying Precision ........................................................................................................................... 30 Checking CAD Files ........................................................................................................................ 33 Generating Validated Drawing Files ................................................................................................ 59
Typography
We will be using the following typography to distinguish items in the text:
[Enter] Brackets indicate keys on the keyboard.
flexibility Italics are used to highlight words for more emphasis.
"Lot 2" Numbers or text that you enter.
System Requirements
This version of TPC Desktop requires Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista and Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or later. We recommend you have 2 GB of RAM 32-bit OS) 4 GB RAM (64-bit
OS) and 60 MB of free hard disk space in which to install the program. An internet
connection is required for program validation.
Important Licensing Information
Our License Agreement allows you to use TPC on only one computer at a time unless you purchase additional licenses. We do offer one courtesy installation for an additional home or field computer, but not for a second user and assuming that the two programs are not being used at the same time. To request a courtesy license contact Traverse PC.
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Using the Plat Checking Guide
Welcome to the TPC Desktop Plat Checking Guide. It’s designed to help you learn how to do everyday tasks with TPC Desktop for Windows Premium and Professional Editions.
The Plat Check Learning Guide is divided into chapters highlighting function areas within the program like Checking Lot Closure and Applying Precision. Within each chapter you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to do the most common plat checking tasks. We’ve also included useful hints to help you work more efficiently in TPC and references to the on-line Help so you can continue to learn after you have used the Advanced Learning Guide.
The topics in the Plat Check Learning Guide apply to all editions of the TPC Desktop 2011. The ones that are limited to specific Editions are clearly labeled, usually at the start of the chapter. Some specific functions are limited to specific Editions and are clearly labeled as such when the function is discussed in the text.
This chapter demonstrates
Each chapter starts with a list of the things demonstrated in the chapter. This list corresponds with the individual tasks in the chapter.
We provide the starting file
Most chapters start by having you open one of the tutorial files provided with the Learning Guide. Just open the file and jump right in.
One page per task
Most of the tasks fit on a single page. Review all the tasks in a chapter first, then work through the tasks that are of interest to you. When you add up all the tasks in all the chapters there are literally hundreds of lessons in the Learning Guide.
Follow the steps
Most tasks include steps for you to follow. Each task starts with step 1.
Menu commands only
For the most part, the Learning Guide will include something like, choose File | Save. The bold typeface indicates text you’ll see on the screen. In this case, you would left-click the File menu to open it, then left-click the Save command to execute it. “Choose” means to left-click on a specific item.
As you become familiar with Traverse PC Desktop you can also use the short-cut keys and tool bars.
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Windows Styles
Depending on your version of Windows and what visual styles you have selected, your dialogs and screens may look different than what is shown in this Learning Guide. We include styles common in Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP in this learning guide.
Windows XP style Windows Vista / Windows 7 style
Windows 8 / Windows 10 Style
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Introduction This is a how to booklet. It shows you how to check plats with TPC Desktop. It is streamlined to include operations common to plat checking in both paper and electronic formats. You’ll learn several ways to create traverses and when to use each. As a result, you will be able to check plats quickly and efficiently.
TPC is a full featured survey program, capable of virtually all aspects of managing survey data. The Plat Checking presented in this booklet is just a subset of what TPC can do. Depending on the edition of TPC you are using, you will be able to do other survey related tasks not covered in this booklet. This booklet does not attempt to illustrate these other tasks.
You Will Learn How To…
Create lots
By entering record data like bearings, distances, arc lengths and curve radii from the keyboard or selecting them from a drawing file.
By selecting CAD objects like lines, arcs and polylines from a drawing file.
Select Drawing View settings to help you delineate and visually check the lots you create.
Create lots, blocks and boundaries that are oriented (laid out) correctly to each other.
Organize lots, blocks and construction phases in the Traverses Manager.
Check lot closures
Check the closure of lots at various precisions.
Address adjacency issues like gaps, overlaps, shared points and common lines.
Correct plat errors.
Report lot data
Generate reports in word processor, spreadsheet and PDF formats.
Generate legal descriptions of the lots you create.
Generate validated or corrected drawing files for the checked plats.
Terms Related to Plat Checking
Points
TPC uses the term coordinate points or just points to refer to a location defined by a point label, coordinates and description. In plat checking, each lot corner becomes a point with a label and a coordinate.
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In TPC, all points are unique. For instance, you can have just one point 37 and it can have just one set of coordinates. This basic rule allows two or more lots to share a common lot corner without any ambiguity about which point is being referenced.
Traverses
TPC uses traverses to organize a survey. A traverse is any collection of points that belong together. In plat checking each lot is a traverse. You can also have traverses for the over-all boundary, Phase 1 and Phase 2, wetlands, road center lines and right-of-ways, etc...
The lot traverses can be grouped together in the Traverses Manager making it easier to locate and manage the lot data.
Surveys
TPC uses the term survey to refer to a job. Survey jobs consist of traverses, their points and drawings. For plat checking, a survey may consist of a single plat or a subdivision for which more than one plat will be submitted.
Drawings
TPC can have up to 32 drawings in a survey. You will probably use just one drawing for the plat you are checking. However, you could also have one drawing for each phase of a multi-phase subdivision or one drawing for the North half of a plat and another drawing for the South half. If a plat is submitted on several pages, you could create a drawing for each submitted page.
Reports
TPC generates reports from the lots you create. Reports can include closure error, area in square feet, acres or hectares, paragraph style legal descriptions, spreadsheet data summaries and other information.
Reports are word processor or spread sheet files which you can edit, copy, paste and print directly from TPC or open in most word processor and spreadsheet programs.
Drawing files
TPC considers any CAD file to be a drawing file. Common drawing files are AutoCAD DXF and DWG, MicroStation DGN and ESRI SHP files. If your plat is available in one of these file formats, you can check the closure of the lots in them without manually re-entering the data.
Once you have created and checked the lots in a plat, you can also create a new drawing file. This allows you to edit and correct the plat information and re-submit the corrected drawing file if necessary.
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Checking Paper Plats
This chapter demonstrates:
Starting a new survey
Adding a traverse to the survey
Entering lot data
Checking the error and area of a lot
Sharing common lines and points
Adding an adjacent lot
Changing the edit sequence
Using the Intersection dialog
Creating notes in the Report View
Using COGO to start another block
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Overview
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to enter lots from a printed plat. You’ll create a traverse for each lot, using the lot numbers as the traverse names. You’ll enter bearings, distances, radii and arc lengths in the Traverse View for each lot.
You’ll be starting from scratch with a new survey.
Starting a New Survey
1. Choose File | New Survey.
If you have a file open and have made any changes since you saved the current survey, TPC will ask if you want to save the current survey before you proceed.
2. Click the Browse button. In the File name field, type Check Plat and choose Save.
3. If you are prompted to replace an existing file of this same name, choose Yes.
4. TPC will re-display the Survey Information dialog with the correct path and Filename.
5. Fill in the rest of the fields as shown here.
6. Choose OK.
TPC displays the New Survey Hints dialog box to give you some ideas of what to do next. When you become more experienced with TPC, you can tell the program to Don’t show
hints again. For now, choose Close.
You’ll see the blank TPC Desktop. The Survey name you entered is displayed in the title bar at the top of the TPC Desktop.
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Adding a Traverse to the Survey
You will start this survey by entering the data for the first lot, Lot 2.
1. Click the Traverse View button to display the New Traverse dialog.
2. Type Lot 2 for the Name and press [Enter].
3. Turn on Increment Name for next traverse.
4. Left-click the down arrow on the right side of the Format list and left-click Deed
w/curves.
5. Left-click the down arrow on the right side of the Settings list and left-click Property
Lines.
These next three steps just ensure that you are using the same format as this booklet.
6. Left-click the three dots […] to the right of the Format list to display the Traverse View Format dialog and match the settings shown here.
7. Choose Save Format, select Deed w/curves for the Format and choose OK.
8. Choose OK to return to the New Traverse dialog.
From the Drawing Options, choose Share current
drawing and Set Tag.
9. Choose OK. You will see this Traverse View.
TPC remembers these dialog settings for you. The next time you start a new traverse, it will be named Lot 3, it will have the Deed w/curves format, it will share the current drawing and it will be tagged in the Traverses Manager.
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Entering Lot Data
Now it’s time to enter the data for Lot 2.
1. Press [Enter] until TPC adds point 2 and highlights the Grid Bearing column.
2. Type 190 in the Grid Bearing column and press [Enter]. Type 284.88 in the Grid Dist column and press [Enter] until the cursor moves to the Grid Bearing column of point 3.
Bearings are entered starting with the quadrant 1=NE 2=SE 3=SW 4=NW. Entering 190 creates the bearing N 90°E where 1 is the NE quadrant and 90 is the degrees.
We’d like to see our data in a drawing as we enter it, so let’s create a drawing.
3. Navigate to Manage | Drawings in the TPC Desktop.
4. Double click a blank line in the Drawings Manager to open the New Drawing dialog box.
5. Enter Plat Check Drawing as the drawing name, and make sure the template is Traverse.DRT.
6. Choose OK.
7. At the Drawing View, choose View | Zoom | Zoom Extents.
Now, as we enter points TPC displays our lot in the drawing, computes the position of the foresight, adds another point to the traverse, automatically increments the point number by one and highlights the new point.
8. Click the Traverse View button to return to the Traverse View to continue entering data.
9. Enter 123.27 for the bearing and 163.5 for the grid distance to point 3.
10. Press [Enter] until you advance to the bearing for point 4.
11. Enter 390 for the bearing and 291.03 for the grid distance to point 4.
12. Press [Enter] until you advance to the bearing for point 5.
13. Enter 330.4 for the bearing and 14.08 for the grid distance to point 5.
14. Press [Enter] until TPC advances to point 6.
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Entering the closing point
The last point added to this traverse was point 6. This is the closing point for this traverse. It is a unique point with a unique set of computed coordinates. This allows TPC to check for error.
If there were no error, the computed coordinates of point 6 would be the same as the initial point 1. If there is any error, comparing the computed coordinates of point 6 with the coordinates of point 1 will identify how much error there actually is.
Changing the closing point label
In order to help you identify point 6 as the closing point and to identify it as being associated with point 1 we will change its point label from 6 to 1:1. There is nothing special about the point label 1:1, it’s just a convenient notation.
1. Highlight point label 6, type 1:1 and press [Enter] twice to move to the Grid Bearing column.
2. Enter 320.341 for the bearing and 147.27 for the distance to point 1:1.
Entering the curve data between points 5 and 1:1
1. Highlight the Radius cell for point 1:1 and enter -420. The minus sign is used to designate a counterclockwise curve direction.
TPC will compute the curve, display the radius and arc length and display a PC and PT next to points 5 and 1:1, indicating that they are part of a curve.
2. In the Description column for point 1:1, enter =1. This is an optional entry that tells TPC point 1:1 is the same point as point 1. TPC will use this relationship to compute the closure.
To learn more about entering horizontal curves
1. Choose Help | Search For Help On… and left-click the Index tab.
2. Scroll down to Horizontal curves, highlight it and choose Display.
3. Choose Entering Horizontal Curves and choose Display.
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Checking the Error and Area of Lot 2
1. If the Traverse View is not the active view, left-click it to make it active. If you are not sure if it is the active view, left-click it anyway – you won’t hurt anything.
2. Choose Tools| Closure View. TPC displays the Closure View for this traverse.
The Closure View displays the relative error of 1:90985, the linear error of 0.01 feet and the area of 1.010 Acres along with Horizontal
Distance, Slope Distance, Area and other information.
Closing the Closure View
1. Left-click the X in the upper-right corner of the Closure View.
In the next chapter you’ll learn how to format the Traverses Manager to display the pertinent closure information so you can check your closures without opening this view.
Closing the Traverse View
1. Left-click the X in the upper-right corner of the Traverse View to close it.
Even though the Traverse View for Lot 2 is now closed, the Lot 2 traverse and all of its data is still part of the survey. You can open the Lot 2 Traverse View at any time by double-clicking the Lot 2 traverse name in the Traverses Manager.
Decimal places
If your decimal places differ from the screen shown above, you can change them to match.
1. From the Desktop, choose Tools | Program Settings and left-click the Decimals tab.
2. Set the Distance decimals to 2 and choose OK.
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Sharing Common Lines and Points
Note: This page is just a reference, so there aren’t any steps to follow.
Before we add Lot 3 to the survey let’s look at how TPC shares common lines and points.
Lot 2 is drawn here in blue and Lot 3 in red. Notice that the two lots share points 3 and 4 and the line between them.
The line from 3 to 4 is a common lot line. We tell Lot 3 to share this line by recalling points 3 and 4 into the traverse.
Recalling points
When you enter a point label in the Traverse View, TPC searches the survey to see if that point already exists and displays a dialog with the appropriate options. In this case, you want to Recall existing point and its coordinates (the default option) so just press [Enter] or left-click OK.
Think of this as typing the existing point label and pressing [Enter] twice.
Recalling lines
When you recall both points 3 and 4 into the Lot 3 traverse, TPC looks to see if the line between them already exists and recalls it into the traverse also. You won’t see a dialog for this, it happens automatically.
Note: The thing to remember about recalling lines is that you don’t have to remember anything – TPC just takes care of it for you.
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Adding an Adjacent Lot
Before you can enter the data for Lot 3, you need to add a traverse to the survey to hold the data.
1. Go to Manage | Traverses from the TPC Desktop.
2. From the Traverses Manager, choose Tools
| Insert New Traverse | Append to End - or - press [] until TPC adds a blank line to the Traverses Manager then press [Enter] - or - double-click any blank row below Lot 2.
TPC displays the New Traverse dialog and has retained our previous settings plus incremented the Name.
3. Since there is no need to change anything, just choose OK.
Recalling the common points 3 and 4
Lot 2 and Lot 3 have two points in common, points 3 and 4. Since points 3 and 4 are already computed, you can start lot 3 by simply recalling these two points.
1. Type 3 in the Point column and press [Enter] twice.
TPC will add a second point to the traverse and move the cursor down to it.
2. Type 4 in the Point column and press [Enter] twice.
TPC also recalled the common lot line between points 3 and 4.
Entering the remaining lot data
Now you can enter the rest of the lot data, starting with the course from point 4 to 6.
1. Press [] until the Grid Bearing column for point 6 is highlighted.
2. Enter 130.4 for the bearing and 32.44 for the distance to point 6.
3. Press [Enter] until TPC moves to the Radius column for point 7.
4. Enter -430 for the Radius. The minus sign indicates a counterclockwise direction.
5. Enter 134.61 for the Arc Length.
As soon as TPC has enough information, it computes the curve. Because curve data was entered instead of a bearing and distance, TPC assumes that the curve is a tangent curve (at the PC, the bearing to the point of radius is perpendicular to the preceding or incoming bearing) as shown in the Drawing View window.
6. Continue pressing [Enter] until the cursor moves to the Bearing column for point 8.
7. Enter 190 for the bearing and 291.05 for the distance to point 8.
8. Press [Enter] until TPC adds point 9 to the traverse.
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9. Highlight the Point column for 9, type 3:1 and press [Enter]. This re-labels the closing point of the traverse to 3:1.
10. Press [Enter] until the Grid Bearing to point 3:1 is highlighted.
11. Enter 323.27 for the bearing and 166.2 for the distance to point 3:1.
12. In the Description column, enter =3.
Your Traverse View should look like this.
Checking the error
1. Choose Tools | Closure
View. Does your Closure View report 0.01 feet of linear error and 1:80823 relative error in the lot data?
Note: Your linear error may be displayed as 0.011. The precision of the error and other distances is controlled by the user settings in Tools | Program Settings, Decimals.
Closing the views
1. Click on the X in the upper right corner of the Traverse and Closure View to close them.
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Changing the Edit Sequence
As you entered the data for Lots 2 and Lot 3, TPC advanced the cursor in the Traverse View based on the Edit Sequence. This sequence tells TPC what to do each time you press the [Enter] key. You have been pressing [Enter] to advance through the Radius and Arc Length columns because they were included in the Edit Sequence.
Let’s add Lot 4 to the survey, remove the Radius and Arc Length from the Edit Sequence and have you enter the data for Lot 4 so you can see the difference the Edit Sequence makes.
1. Double-click any blank row in the Traverses Manager to display the New Traverse dialog for Lot 4 and choose OK.
TPC displays the Traverse View for Lot 4.
2. Choose View | Format View to display the Traverse View Format dialog.
3. On the Format tab, change the Edit Sequence to BH and choose OK.
Enter the data shown here for Lot 4
1. Start by recalling points 7 and 8.
2. Enter the bearing and distance to points 9 and 10.
(Hint: The bearing N2°16’00”E is entered as 102.16 – bearings must start with 3 digits)
Notice that when you enter the horizontal distance (the last item in the Edit Sequence), TPC advances to the next point instead of the Radius column as it did before.
3. Change the closing point 11 to 7:1 as you did for the previous lots.
4. Enter the bearing, radius and arc length to point 7:1.
How did you do? Feel free to go back and change any of the numbers you entered to make your traverse look like this one. Just left-click any existing number in the Traverse View and re-type the correct number.
5. Close the Lot 4 Traverse View by clicking the “X” in the upper right corner.
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Using the Intersection Dialog
Now assume that the block to the west of Lot 2 starts with a point that is on the same southerly right-of-way as Lot 2 and offset 60’ from its westerly right-of-way.
In the drawing here, we’ve created the block corner and called it point 11.
We’ve drawn in a perpendicular offset of 60’ to show that point 11 is NOT perpendicular to the West line of Lot 2 – so we can’t just create point 11 60’ perpendicular from point 1. We need to create point 11 at the intersection of two right-of-way lines.
1. From the TPC Desktop, choose COGO | Intersect…. TPC displays the Intersection dialog.
2. To select Point 1 From, left click the [>] button circled here in red, then left click the symbol or point label for point 2 in Drawing View (shown circled in red above). You can also left click either of the two lines coming into point 2.
3. Enter 2..1 for the Point
1, Bearing. You just entered an equation by recalling the bearing between these two points. You also could have selected it from the drawing.
4. Left click the [>>] button circled here in green then left click the curve from 5 to 1 in the Drawing View.
5. TPC knows the curve you entered in Lot 2 was from 5 to 1:1 (the closing point) not point 1 and brings in the correct end points of the curve. It also holds the distance and computes the bearing.
6. Turn on Accept intersections beyond the end points of the line.
7. Enter a 60 foot Offset for Point 2 shown here in the blue circle.
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8. Take just a moment to look at this dialog and what you just did. Next to the horizontal curve dialog this is perhaps the hardest COGO dialog to learn. That’s because it provides so many options for computing an intersection. But you just saw how easy it is to select the information you have and let TPC figure out the rest.
9. Enter 10 for Computed Intersections 1. TPC displays this dialog.
This is a little trick you can use to get the next available point label. Enter a point label you know is already being used.
10. When TPC displays this dialog telling you it is already used, select the option to Use next available unused
point number then choose OK.
TPC increments the point number you entered until it finds an unused one – in this case, point 11.
This kind of intersection computes two intersections because Accept intersections beyond
the end points of the line actually creates a complete circle based on the curve. TPC allows you to choose the appropriate one or both.
Your Intersection dialog should now look like this.
Saving point 11
At this point, you have only computed point 11. You have not yet saved it to the survey
1. Choose Save. When TPC prompts you to save this point to the survey, choose Yes.
Point 11 is now part of the survey and can be recalled as an existing point when you enter the data for this block.
Plotting point 11 (optional)
1. If you would like to plot point 11 in the Drawing View, choose Plot.
You will see this button in several COGO dialogs in TPC. It appends the COGO point to a traverse called POINT PLOT. This traverse then adds the point to the Drawing View so you have a visual reference of its location.
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Creating Notes in the Report View
As you compute points like you just did with point 11, you can create notes about what you did. These notes can serve as a reminder of how you computed the point plus supply the information you can use to check the position of the point or re-compute it as needed.
1. In the Intersection dialog, choose Summary.
TPC opens the current report or creates a new one.
TPC adds a new section to the report, starting with a heading in double brackets like [[ Intersection Report ]] shown here. Then TPC places information from the dialog into the report. In the case of the Intersection dialog, TPC reports the coordinates of the computed point and the bearing and distance from Point 1 and Point 1:1 to the computed intersection.
2. Choose Close to close the Intersection dialog.
Editing a report
Because reports are DOC files, you can edit them in TPC’s Report View or any word processing program. You can make additional notes here about why you held a certain right-of-way width, or how this point relates to a deed call or whatever. You decide for yourself how much reporting you need to do.
1. To close the Report View, left-click the “X” in its upper right corner.
2. To re-open the report anytime later, choose Window | Report View.
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Using COGO to Start Another Block
Now let’s create point 300 which is 60’ from point 1 and perpendicular to the southerly right-of-way of Lot 2.
1. To create a new traverse, double-click any blank row in the Traverses Manager.
2. Enter Lot 20 for the Name and choose OK.
TPC displays the Traverse View for Lot 20 and creates a starting point using the next available point number
3. Highlight the starting point label, type 300 and press [Enter]. This changes the point label to 300.
Why 300? -- Since we are starting a new block, we are also starting a new range of point labels. You might use points 300 and above for Block 3, points 400 and above for Block 4, etc... TPC doesn’t care if you label points like this or not – so feel free to adopt whatever conventions assist you most.
Using the Compute
Coordinates dialog
The Compute Coordinates dialog allows you to compute the highlighted point on the fly so to speak, using any other points in the survey. It is a handy routine for getting from one block to the next, or crossing an alley way, etc...
1. In the Traverse View for Lot 20 choose COGO, Compute Coordinates.
2. Enter 1 and 2 as the points, and 1..2..+90 as shown here.
The 1..2.. +90 is called an equation. TPC recalls the bearing from point 1 to point 2 and adds 90 degrees to it, in essence, computing the bearing for you.
3. Enter 60 for the Slope Distance and choose Save then Close.
TPC updates the coordinates for point 300 and returns you to the Traverse View where you can begin entering the data for the first lot of Block 3.
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Checking Lot Closure
This chapter demonstrates:
Checking the Closure Error
Changing the Closed Loop Tolerance
Manually Setting the Closure
Overview
In this chapter you will learn how to check your lot closures.
Getting started
1. In the TPC Desktop, choose Manage | Tasks.
2. Choose Sample Surveys.
3. Highlight the Learn Formats.trv file and choose Open.
4. Choose File | Save Survey As.
5. Enter the name Check Closure and choose Save.
If prompted to replace the existing file, choose Yes.
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Checking the Closure Error
You check the closure error of a traverse in the Closure View. This view displays information about the current state of the traverse in four sections.
Distance/Direction Types
TPC displays the distance and direction types assigned to this traverse. Distances and directions reported in the Closure View match the reported types.
Traverse summary
This section displays information about the traverse like perimeter length and area.
The lots you enter will typically be Closed Loops. Road center lines you enter are typically Open traverses.
Error summary
This section reports the closure error.
The Linear error reports the misclosure of the traverse. It is probably the first number you will look at. The smaller the Linear error, the better the closure.
The Relative error reports the error as a ratio. The greater the number, the better the closure. If a traverse closed perfectly, this ratio would be 1 : infinity. TPC displays such a closure as Relative: 1 : 0 (Closed Loop).
Closing points
This section displays the initial and closing points of the traverse. For a closed loop, the Correct point is always the same as the From point.
Decimal places
To change the decimal places for distance and area, in the TPC Desktop, choose Tools | Program Settings | Decimals.
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Changing the Closed Loop Tolerance
As you enter data in a new traverse, TPC tries to determine whether or not the traverse is a closed loop. If it comes back around to where it started, TPC assumes it is a Closed Loop and computes the closure error and area for you automatically. If it does not come back around to where it started, TPC assumes it is an Open traverse for which closure error and area are not computed.
Since most traverses include some closure error and do not return exactly to where they started, TPC uses the Closed Loop Tolerance to determine if the traverse returns close enough to its starting position to be considered a closed loop.
The Closed Loop Tolerance is actually a percentage. It says that if the linear closing error is less than some percentage of the total traverse length, it is a closed loop.
If you enter a closed loop traverse like a lot and it doesn’t close, it could indicate a data entry error or an error on the plat you are checking.
A 0.1% tolerance (default) will correctly identify closed loops with minimal data entry errors.
A 1% tolerance will correctly identify closed loops with moderate data entry errors.
A 5% tolerance would be a very generous tolerance.
Changing the Closed Loop Tolerance
1. From the TPC Desktop choose Tools |
Program Settings.
2. Left-click the Tolerance tab.
3. Enter the Closed Loop percentage you want and choose OK.
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Manually Setting the Closure
What about lots described from a beginning point which is not the Point Of Beginning (POB) of the lot boundary?
In the example shown here, the calls for Lot 3 start at point 1 even though point 3 is the POB.
In these situations, the Closed Loop Tolerance will not properly identify the closure type. You must manually set the closure type and closing points.
Changing the Closure Type
1. From the Closure View choose Edit |
Closure Settings.
2. Set the Closure type to Closed Loop.
Changing the Closure Points
To tell TPC what the starting point and ending points of the loop are.
1. Click on the Closing Point tab.
2. Enter the From and To points and choose OK.
The points you enter here must be in the traverse and the From point must precede the To point in the traverse.
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Reporting Lot Data This chapter demonstrates:
Reporting from the Traverses Manager
Exporting to Microsoft Excel
Reporting the Closure
Using the Traverse Report
Overview
In this chapter you will learn how to check your lot closures.
Getting started
1. In the TPC Desktop, choose Manage | Tasks.
2. Choose Sample Surveys.
3. Highlight the Learn Formats.trv file and choose Open.
4. Choose File | Save Survey As.
5. Enter the name Report Lot Data and choose Save. If prompted to replace the existing file, choose Yes.
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Reporting From the Traverses Manager
In addition to displaying the Closure View, you can also display closure information for each lot in the Traverses Manager.
1. Left-click the Traverses Manager to activate it.
2. Choose Tools | View | Format View…. Or press [F9]
TPC displays the Traverses Manager Format dialog. This dialog allows you to change the format of the Traverses Manager. You arrange the letters to display the columns you want in the Traverses Manager. The sequence of letters determines the sequence of columns, from left to right in the view.
3. Enter N#ABERO for the Display Sequence and choose OK.
4. To refresh these closure computations anytime, choose Tools, Recompute Selected
Traverses. TPC recomputes the closure information for each traverse and updates the view.
Note: Recomputing Traverses will remove any adjustments that have been made to the traverses and will recompute the coordinates based on any underlying raw data.
5. To print this data, choose File | Print….
Relative (Error)
If the relative error of a Closed Loop or Closed Point-to-Point traverse is very small or closes perfectly, TPC displays the word Closed in this column. This is an easy way to identify a good lot closure that may not need to be checked further.
Closure type
The Closure Type column indicates whether each traverse is a Closed Loop, Closed Point-to-Point or Open closure along with its starting and closing points. If a traverse does not return to its starting point, TPC assumes it’s an Open traverse and does not compute any closure information for it.
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Exporting to Microsoft Excel
You can export the lot closure information in the Traverses Manager to a spreadsheet file. TPC writes a CSV file which will open directly in Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet programs.
To write a CSV file
1. From the Traverses Manager, choose Tools | Print | Export Traverses to CSV File.
2. Specify a filename and location and choose Export.
The sequence of data that is written to the CSV file is determined by the display sequence of the Traverses Manager. To change the CSV sequence, change the display sequence.
To open the CSV into Microsoft Excel
1. Open Excel and choose File | Open.
2. From the Files of type list, choose Text Files (*.prn; *.txt; *.csv).
3. Locate the CSV file you wrote and choose Open.
4. You can also just double-click the CSV file in explorer to open it in Excel.
You may want to increase the column width as needed for the traverse name and closure type and format numbers for the decimals you want.
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Reporting the Closure
TPC allows you to create any number of reports right within the program. A report is a word processing document to which you can append data from the program or type your own notes. Only one report is open at any given time and is called the Current Report.
You can add closure information to the current report.
1. In the Traverses Manager, double-click the Lot 2 traverse to open it.
2. Choose Tools | Closure View.
From the Closure View, choose Tools | Print | Append to Report
View or right-click anywhere in the closure view and choose Print |
Append to Report View.
TPC appends a section to the current report titled [[ Closure
View1 – Lot 2 ]] with the day, date and time.
3. To close the Report View, right-click the X in the upper-right corner.
4. To open the Report View at any time, choose Window | Report View.
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Using the Traverse Report
The Traverse Report is used to create a text document consisting of the same types of information for each traverse (lot) you include in it.
1. From the Traverses Manager, choose Tools | Traverse Report. TPC displays the Traverse Report dialog.
2. Choose the Include options you want.
3. Tell TPC which Traverses to report on. Remember, Selected traverses are the ones you’ve highlighted (selected) and Tagged traverses are the ones with a checkmark in the Traverses Manager.
4. Choose OK to generate the report.
5. To print this report, choose Tools | Print | Print
Report.
6. To add it to the current report, choose Tools | Print | Append to Report View.
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Applying Precision This chapter demonstrates:
Understanding Precision
Applying a Precision Adjustment
Working with Precision
Overview
This chapter explains how to apply precision to your traverse data. Precision synchronizes the survey coordinates with the inverses and labels generated by the program. If you were to re-enter the reported bearings and distances, you would end up with the exact coordinates you started with – something a computer doesn’t normally do.
Getting started
1. In the TPC Desktop, choose Manage | Tasks.
2. Choose Sample Surveys.
3. Highlight the Learn Formats.trv file and choose Open.
4. Choose File | Save Survey As.
5. Enter the name Apply Precision and choose Save. If prompted to replace the existing file, choose Yes.
Understanding Precision
The problem with precision originates with computer computations.
What if the computer computes the inversed distance between two survey points as 99.9769801459832 and you report it as 100.0? You have introduced almost 0.03 error. Or to think of it another way – if someone tries to recreate your coordinates by entering the distance of 100.0 feet, their computed coordinate will differ from yours by the 0.03 error.
Add this small error up over the seven courses that define a lot or the 700 courses that define a subdivision and you can have significant precision error.
TPC Desktop eliminates this error by recomputing coordinates to match the reported distance and bearings. Now when someone recreates your survey, their coordinates will match yours.
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Applying a Precision Adjustment
You apply precision as a traverse adjustment which re-computes the traverse based on direction and distance precisions you give it. This adjustment synchronizes the coordinates with the bearings and distances displayed and reported in the program.
Once computed, the traverse closure reports the errors based on this precision. The resulting directions and distances are also displayed in the Traverse View and will be printed in any traverse reports.
How does it work?
When TPC applies this adjustment, it inverses between the current coordinate positions to compute the direction and distance. It then rounds these to the specified precision and recomputes the traverse.
Note: TPC refers to Precision as a 'sticky' adjustment. You can apply sticky adjustments before balancing angles and coordinates. Sticky adjustments also remain in effect when you choose Tools | Recompute.
Applying Precision
1. Open the Lot 2 traverse and choose Tools | Closure
View.
2. In the Closure View, choose Tools | Precision.
3. From the Precision dialog, select the Distance and Direction precisions you want and choose OK.
Note: The Distance type displayed in the Precision dialog matches the Distance type of your traverse. Feet > Feet, Meters > Meters, Chains > Chains
The Closure View will display the Precision in the [Adjustments] section.
Undoing the Precision Adjustment
1. You undo the precision adjustment by choosing Tools | Undo Adjustments.
Note: If you choose to execute this step, please turn Precision back on for the next section of this Learning Guide.
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Working With Precision
Traverse View
In the Traverse View, the status bar displays the appropriate precision each time that column is highlighted.
The direction precision is shown here as the Grid Bearing column is highlighted.
Traverses Manager
To include precision in the Traverses Manager, include the letter P in the format.
1. From the Traverses Manager, choose Tools |
View | Format View.
2. Include the letter P in the Display Sequence and choose OK.
Reports
Precision is reported in the Closure View and traverse reports as 'Precision=0.001 Feet, 1 Seconds' with the distance precision followed by the direction precision.
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Checking CAD Files This chapter demonstrates:
Starting a New Survey
Starting a New Drawing
Importing a CAD file into a drawing
Panning and Zooming in Drawing View
Working With Layers
Using Drawing Commands
The Add Points to Traverse command
Selecting Lines, Arcs and Polylines
Repeating a Command
Tips on Selecting Lot Lines
Selecting Text
Sharing Lot Lines
Selecting Bearings and Distances
Selecting Curve Data
Tips on Creating Lots
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Overview
This chapter explains how to check lots in an existing CAD file. You import the file into a blank drawing in TPC and then select the lines, arcs, polylines or text from the drawing to create traverses for the lots or boundaries you want to check.
TPC provides tools that streamline the process, allowing you to create, check and report lots efficiently and quickly. TPC provides the tools to quickly create lot traverses from the drawing while still allowing you to check each one visually and computationally. It’s like having the best of both worlds.
Premium and Professional Editions
This feature is only in the Premium and Professional Editions of TPC Desktop.
Benefits of using CAD files
Reduce or eliminate data entry, thereby speeding up the process and eliminating data entry errors.
Validate the CAD file and verify its correctness for further processing in GIS.
Common problems with CAD files
CAD files can have lines that don’t start and stop at exactly the same coordinate position, creating gaps and overlaps in adjacent lots.
CAD files can have multiple lines over the top of each other, creating ambiguity as to which lines define the lots.
CAD files can have line annotations like bearings and distances that don’t exactly match the lines they reference.
CAD files can have lines that don’t break at lot corners.
Benefits of using TPC to check CAD files
If you have well behaved CAD files, where lines are broken at lot corners, only one line exists between any two lot corners, lines start and stop exactly at the lot corners, etc., TPC can help you quickly create and check the lots.
If you have ill behaved CAD files with the problems listed above, TPC has the flexibility to help you create the lots as they should be and check them.
TPC can create equivalent CAD files to pass onto GIS. Because TPC is not based on CAD, it eliminates the CAD problems in the files it creates. For example, TPC can’t duplicate a line between any two points – it can have only one line.
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Starting a New Survey
We’ll start a new survey for this example
1. Choose File | New Survey.
If you have a file open and have made any changes since you saved the current survey, TPC will ask if you want to save the current survey before you proceed.
2. Click the Browse button. In the Filename field, type CAD File Check and choose Save.
3. If you are prompted to replace an existing file of this same name, choose Yes.
4. TPC will re-display the Survey Information dialog with the correct path and Filename.
5. Fill in the rest of the fields as shown here.
6. Choose OK.
7. Choose Close on the New Survey Hints dialog box.
A plat check survey typically consists of a drawing for the imported CAD file and one traverse for each lot you are checking.
Starting a new drawing
If you had chosen not to create a new survey, you would still want to create a new drawing to import the CAD file into.
1. Navigate to Manage | Drawings in the TPC Desktop.
2. Double click a blank line in the Drawings Manager to open the New
Drawing dialog box.
3. Enter Lot Layout as the drawing name, and make sure the template is Empty.DRT.
4. Press OK to go to the new drawing in the Drawing View.
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Importing a CAD File Into a Drawing
Importing a CAD file into a drawing makes the objects in the CAD file available for selection into traverses.
1. From Drawing View, choose Tools | Import Data Into
Drawing… to display the Import
Drawing dialog.
2. TPC prompts you to save the file because it is about to change. Choose No for this prompt.
3. Select AutoCAD DWG for the Type.
4. Choose Settings by clicking the small ellipsis to the right of the Type pull down.
5. Match the settings shown here, then choose OK.
6. Choose Browse to display the Browse dialog.
5. Windows 8, 7 and Vista Users, browse to: C:\ProgramData\Traverse PC\TPC Desktop 2013\Samples\ Windows XP Users, browse to: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Traverse PC\TPC Desktop 2013\Samples\
7. Select CAD File Check.DWG and choose Open.
8. From the Import dialog, choose Import.
The Status Log in the dialog tells you when it is finished reading the CAD file.
9. Choose Close.
At this point, all the objects from the CAD file are in the drawing. TPC now needs to establish the extents of the drawing to make the CAD objects visible.
10. In the Drawing View, choose View | Zoom | Zoom Extents. If the CAD objects are not yet visible or do not fill the page, choose this command again.
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Panning and Zooming in Drawing View
Now is a good time to learn about panning and zooming in the Drawing View. These skills will allow you to move around in the drawing as you create traverses and select data.
1. Choose View | Zoom | Zoom Window and left-click near the red 1 shown here on the drawing.
2. Left-click again near the 2.
Zooming
Here are some other zoom methods
1. If you have a wheel mouse, roll the wheel up and down. Does the drawing zoom in and out? If not, choose View | Format View, select the Mouse tab and set the Mouse Wheel option to Zoom In/Out.
2. To back up to your previous zoom, choose View | Zoom | Zoom Previous.
3. To look at the whole page again in the Drawing View, choose View | Zoom | Zoom Page.
These few zoom commands will help you get started. Other zoom commands are available in the View menu and on the Zoom tool bar.
Panning
When you are zoomed in, TPC adds the scroll bars to the Drawing View and allows you to pan or scroll the drawing. Panning and scrolling are essentially the same thing.
1. Zoom in using one of the commands you just learned.
2. Drag the horizontal or vertical scroll bars in the Drawing View.
3. Position the mouse cursor over any blank spot in the drawing, press and hold the left mouse button, move the mouse (the drawing moves with it) then release the left mouse button. This is the common drag-and-drop method used elsewhere in Windows. It pans the drawing, it does not move it on the page.
4. To back up to your previous position, choose View | Zoom | Zoom Previous.
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Working With Layers
Because you just imported a CAD file, you will also need to learn about layers.
CAD programs put drawing objects (entities) on layers. In the drawing you just imported, major contour lines are on a layer and lot lines are on a different layer. We need to see the lot lines but we don’t really want to see the major or minor contours.
You can select just the layers you want with the Layers dialog.
Using the Layers dialog
In the Drawing View, choose Tools | Layers.
1. Choose Select All then choose Off.
This turns off all the layers. Now you can turn back on the ones you really want.
2. Left-click the Tables layer.
3. Hold down the Ctrl key and left-click the other highlighted layers shown here.
4. Select On.
5. Select the TPCLineLabels_ layer and choose
Current.
6. Choose Close.
TPC redisplays the drawing, showing only the layers that are turned on. The layers you turned off are still part of the drawing, but you can’t see them because they are turned off.
You have successfully reduced a somewhat complicated CAD drawing down to just those drawing objects you are really interested in:
Lot Lines
Lot Labels
Annotations (bearing, distance, radius, etc.)
Tables
Note: You can also turn off layers by right-clicking any drawing object and choosing Layer Tools | Modify Layer | Off. This is a great way to turn off just one or two layers.
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Using Drawing Commands
In the next section of this chapter you will select the lines and arcs that define a lot. At the current drawing size however, the lines are a little small and hard to select. This is easily remedied by zooming in on the drawing.
So let’s zoom in on the portion of the drawing you will be working on and in the process, talk about using drawing commands.
1. Choose View | Zoom | Zoom Window.
This initiates the Zoom Window command and displays the first step of the command on the status bar at the bottom of the TPC Desktop.
2. Left-click near point 1 shown here.
The command prompt changes to the following
3. Left-click near point 2 as shown here.
The Zoom Window command just needs two corners of a window defined in order to zoom to this window and then it is done.
Note: Some other commands continue indefinitely, requiring you to press [Enter] or right-click to end the command.
Now that you are zoomed in, you can insert a traverse for LOT 1.
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The Add Points to Traverse Command
When you check CAD files, you create traverses from the Drawing View instead of creating them in the Traverses Manager. This establishes the connection between the traverse data and the drawing data, allowing you to use both the Traverse View and Drawing View to create the lot.
1. From Drawing View, choose Tools | Add Points
to Traverse.
2. Enter LOT 1 for Name.
3. From the Insert list, choose Append to end.
4. Select Deed w/curves for Format.
5. Select Plat Check Lots for Settings.
6. Select Method 2).
7. Match the rest of the information shown here.
This dialog is the control center of checking plats with CAD files. It allows you to predefine the traverses you create and select the method you will use to populate it. You’ll see it often as you work through this lesson.
If TPC may display a message saying the drawing yiew is not set up correctly, choose Yes. This allows TPC to properly set up the Drawing View for you.
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Note: Make sure only lines you wish to include in a traverse are selected not text labels or other objects! We do a window selection in case a particular line is made up of many smaller lines. If you’re sure your drawing has a limited number of lines it may be easier to individually select these lines and not remove all the labels later.
You’ll also learn how to ignore the line labels later on in this chapter.
Selecting Lines, Arcs and Polylines
Because you selected Method 2, TPC displays the following command prompt on the status bar at the bottom of the TPC Desktop
LeftClick object to select/unselect (Previous/Window/Cross) [RightClick=end selection]
You are being asked to use the mouse to select the drawing objects that form this lot.
1. Press and release the [W] key on your keyboard to tell TPC you will select all the objects that lie entirely within a window you will specify.
2. Position the cursor somewhere near point 1 shown here and left-click.
3. Now position the cursor somewhere near point 2 and left-click again.
TPC redraws the selected objects in gray.
4. If one or more of the lot lines for LOT 1 are not grayed out on your screen, position the cursor over them and left-click.
5. Left-click all labels and other non-line objects that are associated with Lot 1 and are gray. This unselects those objects.
Objects which are only partially inside the window you specified are not selected. The difference between selecting objects by Cross vs. Window is that the Cross option includes objects that may be only partially in the window you specify whereas the Window option includes only those objects that lie entirely within your window.
Notice also that the command prompt doesn’t change. It still says LeftClick object to
select/unselect. You are free to select or unselect additional drawing objects as needed.
6. Right-click to tell TPC you are all done selecting objects.
Because there are no more steps to this command, TPC completes the command as follows.
Creates the traverse for LOT 1 using the selected drawing objects.
Opens a Traverse View and displays the traverse.
Adds the traverse to the Traverses Manager and displays the closure information.
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Draws the traverse in Drawing View, right over the top of the CAD objects, so you have a visual reference for the traverse you just created.
In the world of plat checking, TPC just did some very exciting things. You took a CAD drawing which may or may not have well behaved drawing objects in it and used it to very quickly create a lot description you can check, plot, report and store. Wow! That’s impressive.
Resolved CAD issues
TPC sorted the CAD objects you selected into a traverse, creating the proper sequence and resolving any gaps or overlaps it found in the process. It used the coordinate tolerance specified in the Program Settings to determine if two coordinates that may be very close to each other actually represent the same point.
It looked for and incorporated any existing lines created by other lots, ensuring that as you create and check each lot, no duplicate lot lines are created. Since this is the first lot it did not have to perform this test, but it will on subsequent lots.
It determined the actual bearing, distance, radius and arc length of each of the drawing objects it found and reported them to you in the Traverse View. There’s no guessing now about how long a line is.
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The Traverse View
TPC has created a new traverse that describes this lot. Using this traverse you can compute the area, write a legal description, check the accuracy of the drawing objects, identify potential gaps and overlaps and fix any problems you find.
The Traverse View displays the inversed bearings, distances, radii and arc lengths as if you had entered these values manually.
The Traverses Manager
TPC updated the Traverses Manager to show LOT 1 along with its computed area and closure information.
If the Traverses Manager is not formatted as shown, choose Tools | View | Format and set the Display Sequence to N#ABERO.
Now that this traverse is part of the survey, you can include it in reports, printouts and exported files.
The Drawing View
TPC tagged this traverse in the Traverses Manager causing the Drawing View to draw it using the settings you selected. The red color (shown here) helps to differentiate it from the CAD lines -- giving you a visual check.
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Repeating a Command
So what if you have a hundred lots to check? You need some options to really get something done – like a repeat command so you can do multiple lots.
1. Close the Traverse View for LOT 1 by left-clicking the X in its upper-right corner.
2. Left-click the Drawing View to activate it and choose Tools | Add Points to Traverse.
3. In the When the Command is Finished section of the dialog, turn on the Close the Traverse
View and Repeat the command.
TPC remembers the rest of the settings from the last time this dialog was open, allowing you to change just these options before continuing.
4. For Insert, choose Appene to end.
5. Choose OK.
6. Press and release the [W] key on your keyboard and window the objects for LOT 2.
7. Left-click all labels and other non-line objects that are associated with Lot 2 and are gray to unselect them.
8. Right-click to tell TPC you are finished selecting objects.
TPC has everything it needs to create the new traverse for LOT 2; it adds the new traverse to the Traverses Manager and displays its closure information there.
Lot 3
TPC then displays a new Add Points to New traverse dialog and automatically increments the traverse name from LOT 2 to LOT 3.
This is your opportunity to change the way you create the next traverse (if conditions in the drawing dictate). You can turn off the Repeat the command option or choose Cancel to tell TPC you don’t want to create any more new traverses at this time.
1. Choose Append to create LOT 3.
You can see how easy it is to create and check many lots with this command.
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Tips on Selecting Lot Lines
Now that you’ve tried your hand at selecting lot lines, a few helpful tips are in order. You will probably develop your own tricks of the trade, but these will help you get started.
Using the Cross command on diagonal lots
When selecting a lot that lies diagonally on the drawing, try the Cross option instead of the Window option for selecting drawing objects.
Here we’ve drawn a blue box to show you the size and location of window to specify. This window intersects and therefore selects all four lot lines of LOT 3 without intersection any other lines in the drawing. In this instance the Cross option is the BEST option for selecting the objects you want.
1. When prompted to select objects for LOT 3, press and release the [C] key on the keyboard to activate the Cross option.
2. Make sure you have just the lines for Lot 3 selected, then right-click to end the selection.
Ignoring unwanted layers
If you find yourself frequently selecting individual lines and arcs you might want to ignore the line labels so they don’t get in the way. In TPC you can Ignore their layer.
1. Cancel the Add Points To Traverse dialog box.
2. Position the cursor over any bearing or distance, right-click and choose Layer Tools |
Modify Layer | Ignore.
Unlike turning a layer off, ignoring a layer allows you to still see the objects on the layer. Some of information on the plat may be useful to you in determining the correct lot configuration, so you may still want to see it – you just don’t want to select it.
Turning off unwanted layers
You can also just turn off the TPCLineLabels_ layer to eliminate unselecting the text.
Saving your work
1. Choose File | Save Survey.
TPC updates the survey file with the changes you have made.
Take some time to stand up and stretch or go get a glass of water before you learn how to select drawing text to check lot closure.
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Selecting Text
Now let’s create lots by selecting the text from the drawing. You will left-click on a bearing and TPC will enter it into the Traverse View as if you had typed it manually. You will do the same for distances, arc lengths and radii.
Advantages of Selecting Text
Selecting text from the drawing can be faster than entering the data manually.
It reduces transcription errors.
It creates a traverse based on the precision of the selected text. In the example we will use here, all bearings will get entered to the nearest second and all distances to the nearest one-hundredth of a foot. The closure error that is computed will be based on these precisions.
Creating traverses from Drawing View with the Multiple Lots option turned on automates the entire process of creating, naming, plotting and reporting traverses.
Getting started
1. From the TPC Desktop, choose Sample Surveys in the Tasks Manager.
2. Highlight the Check Text.TRV file and choose Open.
3. Choose File | Save Survey As.
4. Enter the name CAD File Check Text and choose Save.
If prompted to replace the existing file, choose Yes.
Add Points to Traverse command
1. Zoom in on lots 3 and 4 in the Drawing View as shown here.
You will need to left-click the bearings and distances in the drawing, so zoom in close enough to easily position the cursor over one text item at a time.
Note: Lots 1 and 2 have already been created in the file you just opened. As a result, the common line between lots 2 and 3 has already been created and its end points labeled (8 and 9) in the drawing. As you proceed, you’ll learn how to share this line between the two lots.
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Choose Tools | Add Points to Traverse in the Drawing View
TPC displays the Add Points to New
traverse dialog.
2. Enter LOT 3 as the traverse Name.
3. Match the settings shown here.
Note: TPC uses the Edit Sequence of the selected Format to prompt you for the text to select from the drawing.
The Edit Sequence for the Deed w/curves format is BHRC (Bearing, Horizontal Distance, Radius and Arc Length) so the command will ask you to select a bearing from the drawing, then a distance, radius and arc length. Once it has a combination of these numbers it can use to compute the point it will advance to the next point, ready for more data.
4. Choose Append.
5. If TPC displays the following message, choose Yes. This allows TPC to properly set up the Drawing View for you.
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Sharing Lot Lines
1. Following the command prompt on the status bar to LeftClick start point
(Insert/End…), position the cursor over the point label 8 and left-click.
When you do, TPC does a number of things for you.
Creates the traverse for LOT 3 and displays its Traverse View.
Finds the existing point 8 in the survey (it was created by LOT 2) and recalls it into the traverse.
Finds the next available unused point number (11) and adds it to the traverse.
Adds LOT 3 to the Traverses Manager so you can track its closure information.
Updates the command prompt to Select Grid Bearing [Right Click=Advance, Shift +
Right Click=Reverse][Enter=End] <8 – 11>. This tells you TPC is expecting a bearing next, but you can also press [Enter] on the keyboard to end the command. The <8 –
11> reminds you that the bearing it is asking for is from point 8 to point 11.
2. Position the cursor over the point label 9 and left-click.
TPC does the following:
Replaces the current point (11) in the traverse with the existing survey point 9 (created by LOT 2)
Adds point 11 to the traverse.
Prompts you with Select Grid Bearing [Right
Click=Advance, Shift + Right
Click=Reverse][Enter=End] <9 – 11>.
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Modeling the real world
In the real world, there is just one lot corner or lot pin at point 8, another at point 9 and one common line between them – the lot line. TPC just modeled this for you. TPC can have just one coordinate point at 8, another at 9 and just one line between them – it actually can’t do it any other way.
This is great for plat checking because
It forces these two points and the line between them to be shared by the two adjacent lots (LOT 2 and LOT 3).
It ensures that there are no gaps or overlaps between these two lots.
Any corrections made to either point by either lot affects the other lot – because they share the points – Wow! It’s just like it should be!
Exporting a validated CAD file
In a later chapter, you’ll learn that you can export your lots to a CAD file in which there is one and only one line between any two lot corners and all lot lines exactly match their line annotations.
Lot reports
When TPC creates a report for LOT 2 and LOT 3, it is actually reporting on the shared points and common lot line. In this instance, the common lot line from point 8 to 9 will be reported exactly the same in both the LOT 2 and LOT 3 report, because it IS exactly the same line.
The No CAD Zone!
It's time for a short commercial. This is why TPC is called the No CAD Zone and why it wasn’t built on a CAD engine. Had TPC been built on a CAD engine, it would need to provide numerous work-arounds to ensure that the basic rules we are talking about are not violated and ultimately, the responsibility would be passed on to you. You would have to somehow check to make sure everything is OK and by the rules.
Because TPC is not built on CAD, it handles these issues and others by design, without the aid of work-arounds and eliminates the need for you to check these basic rules.
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Selecting Bearings and Distances
Remember that the Traverse View, Drawing View, and Traverses Manager all synchronize their data. The data you select in the drawing must correspond to the highlighted cell in the Traverse View. The command line in Drawing View also tells you which text to select next.
You will use the following hot keys to select drawing text in the correct sequence.
Left-click Text - position the cursor over a text item and left-click. TPC will enter that data into the Traverse View and advance to the next item in the edit sequence.
Left-click the appropriate cell in the Traverse View - this suspends the command in the Drawing View and activates the Traverse View. You can now enter data in the cell you clicked, click on another cell or use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight any other cell in the Traverse View. To return to the Drawing View, left-click anywhere on the Drawing View.
Shift + Left-click blank spot - reverses the last bearing or radius entered.
Left Double-click Text - position the cursor over a bearing or radius text item and left double-click. TPC will reverse the bearing or curve direction and enter that data into the Traverse View and advance to the next item in the edit sequence.
Right-click - advances to the next item in the edit sequence without entering any data. Right-clicking through all the items in the edit sequence advances to the next traverse point and eventually ends the command.
Shift + Right-click - moves backwards through the edit sequence.
Right Double-click - advances to the next point, skipping any remaining items in the edit sequence. TPC appends a new point to the traverse as needed.
Enter - pressing the enter key will end this command.
Correcting the Sequence
Both the Drawing View and the Traverse View advance through the edit sequence as you select text. So what if you get out of sequence? How do you correct it?
Use Shift + Right-click to back up or Right-click to advance until you are back in the Traverse View cell you want. Select the drawing text that matches that cell.
Left-click the cell you want in the Traverse View then Left-click any blank spot on the drawing. Now continue selecting text.
Correcting Data
What if you put the wrong data in a Traverse View cell? How do you correct it?
Use Shift + Right-click to back up to that cell then select the correct text from the drawing.
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Select the Data for Lot 3
Now you will select the remaining bearing and distance text objects that define LOT 3.
1. Following the command prompt, position the cursor over the bearing circled here and double-click. TPC places the bearing N36°29’07”E in the Bearing column of the Traverse View and redraws the bearing in gray to indicate that you have selected it.
Note: Did you notice how the double-click reversed the bearing?
2. Position the cursor over the 150.27’ distance label in the drawing and left-click.
The Traverse View displays the distance, computes point 11 and advances to the Radius.
The Drawing View adds point 11 plus the lot line from 9 to 11 and redraws the selected bearing and distance in their normal colors.
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3. Right double-click the mouse to advance to point 12 in the Traverse View.
4. Following the command prompt Select Bearing [RtClick=Advance,
Shift+RtClick=Reverse] <11 – 12>, double-click the next bearing S53°30’53”E to reverse it and single click the distance 144.08’. Double right-click to advance to the next point
5. Following the command prompt Select Bearing [RtClick=Advance,
Shift+RtClick=Reverse] <12 – 13>, double-click the next bearing N35°31’20”E to reverse it and single click the distance 150.29’.
Note: Don’t double right-click because we aren’t adding any more points to this traverse.
6. Press [Enter] to tell TPC you are finished with this lot.
Congratulations! You just created your first lot with selected text.
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A closer look at each view reveals that you have accomplished quite a bit.
Traverses Manager
The Traverses Manager reveals that LOT 3 has closed with zero thousandths linear error. The Relative column displays Closed to help you readily identify that this traverse closed within the tolerance you’ve specified.
TPC has determined that you created a Closed Loop traverse that starts at point 8 and ends at point 13. Point 13 is the closing point used to compute the closure error.
The Area displayed matches the area for LOT 3 on the drawing - another check you can use to determine if you have any gross errors in your traverse.
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Traverse View
All the data has been entered into the Traverse View as if you had entered it manually. This is the data that has computed points 11, 12 and 13 now included in the drawing.
Notice that the Horiz Dist from point 8 to point 9 is displayed as 141.551. Why isn’t it 141.550 like the distance in the drawing? The reason is that this line was created in the previous chapter by selecting the CAD line. The line length was 141.551 which did not exactly match the 141.50 line annotation. Once again, CAD drawings do not inherently require that line lengths and their annotations exactly match.
Drawing View
The drawing now includes the point labels for 11 and 12 and all the lot lines you created.
Point 13 is not drawn since it would overlap point 8. This is a Drawing View setting you could easily change if needed.
Hot Keys Revisited
TPC relies heavily on the hot keys to select the correct data in the correct sequence. Don’t worry if you stumbled through this first lot. With just a little practice, these clicks and double-clicks will become second nature and you’ll be creating lots like a champ.
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Selecting Curve Data
This topic expands text selection to curves.
1. From Drawing View, choose Tools | Add Points to Traverse.
TPC displays the Add Points to New traverse dialog.
2. Enter LOT 4 as the traverse Name (This will be automatically entered if Increment
Name for Next Traverse is checked).
3. Choose Append.
4. Left-click point label 11 then point label 12. TPC adds both of these points to the LOT 4 traverse.
5. Left-click the N35°31’20”E bearing and the 123.99’ distance labels. Notice that this bearing label is going the direction you are, so there is no need to reverse it.
6. Double right-click the mouse to advance to the next point in the Traverse View.
7. Left-click on the Radius column for point 15 in the Traverse View and enter 25. TPC advances to the Arc Length column. Enter 39.27.
You may need to press Enter again to advance to the next point.
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If you’re wondering where the 25’ radius and 39.27’ arc length are from, check the Curve Table in the drawing. You could just as easily have scrolled up to the curve table and selected the 25.000’ and 39.270’ values from the C4 row of the table.
8. Left-click any blank spot back on the drawing to re-activate the Drawing View.
Note: When you left-clicked the Radius column in the Traverse View, the Traverse View became the Active View. Before you can continue selecting data in the Drawing View, you need to re-activate it - making it the Active View. That’s what left-clicking a blank spot in the drawing does.
9. Following the command prompt Select Bearing [RtClick=Advance] <15 – 16>, left-click the next bearing S54°28’41”E and distance 119.78’ from the drawing. Double right-click to advance to the next point.
10. Following the command prompt Select Bearing [RtClick=Advance] <16 – 17>, left-click the next bearing S35°47’43”W and distance 151.42’ from the drawing.
11. Press [Enter] to tell TPC you are finished with this lot.
Note: To remove a curve you created accidentally, select its radius in the Traverse View and enter zero.
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Tips for Creating Lots
The following are general rules you will want to follow when entering or selecting data to check plats. They will help you produce the best possible traverses to represent the lots you are checking.
Work your way out
Always work away from your starting lot. In the example shown here,
1. Start with Lots 1 through 4 (red)
2. Then do lots 15, 14, 11, 12 & 13 (blue)
3. Finally, do lots 5 through 10 (green)
Start each lot with existing points
Always start each new lot by selecting or recalling any existing points it shares with other lots.
In the example shown here, you start LOT 3 by recalling the existing points 8 and 9 created by LOT 2. LOT 3 can then put all of the error in the lot closure at point 8 when the traverse is closed.
Avoid closing on common lot lines
Wherever possible, close a traverse on a line that is not shared with another lot.
LOT 3 (shown here) closes on point 13. The line shown here from point 12 to point 8 is actually drawn from point 12 to the closing point 13 which is not shown.
The line from point 12 to 8 can’t be shared with another lot because it doesn’t exist – TPC hasn’t even created it (the line is actually from12 to 13 – the closing point). The other lot lines (8-9, 9-11 & 11-12) do exist and can be shared.
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Note: When checking plats it is very important that the lot lines created match the bearings and distances shown on the plat. This removes any ambiguity about the true shape of the lot and how it is being represented. TPC holds to this rule. The inevitable side effect is that if we were to zoom in very close about point 8, we would see that the line from point 12 to point 8 doesn’t actually close on point 8. In fact, it misses point 8 by whatever the closing error is. This is what we want when it comes to plat checking, but we have to realize that in the process, we have not created the line from 12 to 8 (it doesn’t exist). We have created the line from point 12 to 13 instead.
Selecting multi-line text
You may find multi-line text in the CAD files you are checking. When you select such a text object, TPC parses out the individual text items and tries to fit them into the traverse as if each had been selected in sequence.
In the example shown here, each curve segment is labeled with multi-line text, as is the annotation from 45 to 46.
Notice that this traverse is formatted to accept Bearing, Grid Dist and Radius in that sequence.
When you select the text item from 45 to 46, TPC first parses out the bearing and enters it into the Traverse View, then parses out the distance and enters it into the Traverse View.
When you select the curve label from point 46 to 47 (shown as 46 to 39 here), TPC parses out the bearing, distance and radius and displays them in the Traverse View.
Note: The sequence of data in the curve text must match the edit sequence in the traverse view.
Note: If the text items don’t match the edit sequence, you can sometimes accomplish what you want by selecting the text object more than once. TPC will try to fit the items into the Traverse View as best it can. If this doesn’t work, just left-click the Traverse View and enter the values manually.
Generating Validated Drawing Files
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Generating Validated Drawing Files This chapter demonstrates:
Exporting a CAD file
Exporting a Shape file
Exporting a PDF file
Exporting an image file
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Overview
In this chapter you will learn how to export your validated lots.
The file you will start with contains traverses that were created by selecting bearings, distances and radii from an imported CAD file just like you did in the previous chapter. The basic rules of working outward and sharing common point and lot lines were followed. The Drawing View settings were used to create the lot labels, lot areas, lot lines, line annotations and point numbers shown here.
Not everyone will need to create validated CAD files, shape files or PDF’s. It all depends on your process.
In some organizations, a validated CAD or GIS file is passed on to the GIS folks who integrate it into the master GIS model. Having validated lots helps control parcel errors in the GIS model. In other organizations, PDF’s are required for visual indexes and internet reference sites. TIFF files can be created for tax lot maps and the list goes on.
The good news here is that TPC creates so many different file formats that you are bound to find the one you want.
Getting started
1. From the Tasks Manager choose Sample Surveys.
5. Highlight the Check Export.trv file and choose Open.
6. Choose File | Save Survey As.
7. Enter the name My Check Export and choose Save.
If prompted to replace the existing file, choose Yes.
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Exporting a CAD File
Because all of the lots in this drawing were created using traverses, the CAD file you export will have the following very desirable features.
Common lot corners will be represented by one and only one point.
Common lot lines will be represented by one and only one line.
All line labels (bearing, distance, radius, etc.) match the corresponding line exactly.
No line label is more precise or less precise than its corresponding line.
All areas are computed from the line annotations.
Drawing objects are grouped by layer.
You can think of this as validated data. The ambiguities typical of CAD drawings have been removed. The drawing and the data match exactly.
Using layers
Note: This is not supported in the Personal Edition of TPC Desktop.
1. Left-click Drawing View to activate it, then choose Tools | Layers. TPC displays the Layers dialog.
Notice that certain layers denoted with an asterisk (*) are turned on, while most others are turned off. All of the information from the CAD file that was imported for the plat check is available in the layers that are turned off. Only the layers containing validated lines and text have been turned on.
2. Close the Layers dialog.
Exporting a DWG file
1. In the Drawing View choose Tools | Export Drawing As… to display the Export dialog.
2. Chose No when you are asked to save the file.
3. From the Type list, choose AutoCAD DWG.
4. Choose Export.
TPC displays information about the export in the Status Log. When the file has been written, TPC displays Finished in the Status Log.
Previewing the file
1. If you have AutoCAD (or a CAD file viewer) on your computer and want to see the DWG file you just wrote, choose Preview.
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The file path
By default, TPC has written the DWG file to the same folder as the survey file and built the drawing filename by combining the survey filename and the drawing name as shown in the Status Log.
1. To change the default path or filename, choose Browse, specify the folder and filename you want and choose Save to return to the Export dialog. TPC replaces the Filename in the Export dialog with the path and filename you selected in the Browse dialog.
Modifying the export settings
You can change the way TPC writes a DWG file by changing the Settings.
1. From the Export dialog, click the settings button (a small button with … on it ) to the right of the Type.
Each file type that TPC exports has its own unique settings. In the case of the AutoCAD DWG file type shown here, you can choose the Version of AutoCAD you want to export. Other options allow you to customize the information included in the exported file.
2. Choose OK to return to the Export dialog.
Exporting a DXF file
DXF files are used to exchange drawing information. They contain the same information as DWG files but in the DXF format published by AutoDesk.
Your client may prefer to receive a DXF file instead of a DWG. If you are unsure, send both files.
1. From the Export dialog Type list, choose AutoCAD ASCII
DXF.
TPC changes the filename extension from DWG to DXF.
2. Click the settings button and select the DXF settings you want, including AutoCAD version.
3. Return to the Export dialog and choose Export.
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Exporting a DGN file
Bentley products like MicroStation use DGN files for drawings which TPC can both import and export. DGN files use levels and cells instead of layers and blocks like DWG and DXF files. TPC understands this difference and writes levels and cells to the DGN files it creates.
1. From the Export dialog Type list, choose Bentley DGN.
Notice that TPC changes the filename extension to DGN.
2. Click the settings button and select the options you want.
3. Return to the Export dialog and choose Export.
4. If you have a Bentley software product installed (or a file viewer that supports the DGN format), choose Preview to open the DGN file you just wrote.
5. When you are finished, Close this dialog.
Note: TPC does not support DGN files as well as it does DWG files. Raster images are not exported to DGN files and text sizes do not always match when the file is opened in the Bentley Viewer. Bentley products do however, read DWG files quite well. As a result, we suggest that you export DWG files and import them into your Bentley products.
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Exporting a Shape File
Shape files contain points and polygons used in GIS applications. Lots are typically represented as polygons in GIS.
1. From the TPC Desktop, choose File | Export to display the Export dialog.
2. From the Type list, choose ESRI Shape.
TPC changes the filename extension to SHP for you.
3. Click the settings button and select the Polylines option then return to the Export dialog.
4. Choose Export.
TPC writes the shape file, including each lot by name. The lots you created in TPC correlate directly to polygons in the GIS file.
TPC actually writes three files, all of which are needed to by the GIS program that reads them. All three share the same filename (My Check Export) but with the extensions SHP, SHX and DBF.
Note: If you have an ESRI software product installed (or a file viewer that supports the SHP file type), you can click the Preview button to see how the exported file looks.
Note: You can export shape files both from the Drawing View and from the TPC Desktop. The difference is that Drawing View just exports drawing objects irrespective of what they might represent, like the lots you created in your plat check. By contrast, the TPC Desktop treats each traverse like a lot in GIS.
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Exporting an Image File
TPC can write a number of image file formats including WMF, EMF, JPG, TIF, GIF and PNG.
Vector files
The WMF, EMF and PGN file formats are vector files. Vector files contain commands to draw a line from one point to another instead of containing the line itself. As a result, the line can be redrawn on any device at the highest resolution available on that device. You can create an 18”X24” drawing, export it to a vector file and plot it out on an 8.5”X11” without loss of resolution.
Bitmap files
The JPG, TIF and GIF formats are bitmaps. Shrinking or expanding them from their original size will result in drawing degradation.
1. From the Drawing View, choose Tools | Export Drawing as… to display the Export dialog.
2. From the Type list, choose Enhanced Windows Meta File.
3. Click the settings button , select the options shown here and choose OK.
4. From the Export dialog, choose Export.
5. Choose Preview to display the file you just wrote. Windows will open the EMF file in whichever program you have installed as the default viewer.
Unlike CAD files, image files do not contain drawing objects that can be used in other operations. They contain just the image or picture of the drawing which can be reproduced but not edited without an image editing software. You might think of these as a read only or archive copies of the drawing.
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Exporting a PDF File
The acronym PDF stands for Portable Document Format and is a graphics file format developed by Adobe Systems Inc. PDF files are vector files (not bitmaps) which means they can be scaled indefinitely without loss of resolution – making your maps crisp and readable whether you plot them to an 8.5”X11” or 24”X36” sheet of paper.
The PDF format has become a de facto standard for drawings and text documents.
To write a PDF file
1. Choose Tools | Print | Print Drawing… and select Traverse PC PDF from the list of printers.
2. Choose Properties to change any settings and return to the Print dialog.
3. Then choose OK.
4. TPC will display the Save As dialog. You can select a folder and change the filename as needed.
5. Choose Save to write the PDF file.
PDF files can be viewed in Acrobat Reader as shown here. A copy of Acrobat Reader is included on the TPC program CD and can be installed on your computer.
Note: TPC’s PDF files do not contain layers.